Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 January 2022
377. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Education if she will develop and implement a national policy on sexual harassment and assault in schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3167/22]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, my Department has commenced a review of my Department’s 2013 Action Plan on Bullying and the 2013 Anti-bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-primary Schools. This review will take account of developments and relevant research since the action plan and procedures were published in 2013 and will specifically consider areas such as cyber bullying, gender identity bullying and sexual harassment.
The review will also give detailed consideration to the recommendations contained in the Oireachtas Joint Committee Report on School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health.
This review of the Action Plan on Bullying and the Anti-bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-primary Schools will involve significant consultation and collaboration across my Department, with other Government Departments and Bodies including the Ombudsman for Children, and will also involve consultation with a broad range of education stakeholders, including parents and students.
During this school year my Department's Inspectorate is prioritising monitoring and gathering information about the implementation of anti-bullying measures in schools across all its inspection types. In the first term of the current school year, the Inspectorate conducted over 500 incidental inspections in primary schools, special schools and post-primary schools. Those inspections included a focus on how schools prevent and tackle bullying through promoting a positive school climate and culture. This will help inform the review of the Action plan and review of the anti-bullying procedures by providing evidence of the type of bullying that is occurring in our schools and examples of approaches that can be successful in dealing with it. An important part of the Inspectorate’s work is a focus on the priority actions of schools in relation to promoting a positive school culture and climate.
There are currently extensive training and curricular supports, including through the Social Personal Health Education (SPHE) curriculum, the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) and the Webwise Programme, to assist schools in the development of policies and practices on the safe use of the internet and on the prevention of bullying including cyber-bullying.
The Report on the Review of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in primary and post-primary schools was published by the NCCA in December, 2019. The NCCA was asked to look at a number of specific issues in respect of RSE and the curriculum. These included but were not limited to consent; developments in relation to contraception; healthy positive, sexual expression and relationships; safe use of the Internet and social media and its effects on relationships and self-esteem; and LGBTQ+ matters.
The immediate focus of the NCCA work has been on creating support materials for teachers for publication online as part of an Interim Guidance Toolkit. The toolkit's purpose is to support effective teaching and learning of SPHE/RSE linked to the current curriculum and to provide guidance on how SPE/RSE may be approached in a comprehensive way that meets the needs of young people today. These resources cover all topics including many of the topics that have been raised in the media during recent days as important for young people's education - there are resources to help teachers in teaching about rights and responsibilities in relationships, how to recognise healthy, unhealthy and abusive relationship, how to interact safely and respectfully (both online and face-to-face), the influence of the media (including pornography) on young people's understanding and expectations, sexual consent and assertive communication.
The NCCA Toolkits will be expanded during 2022 to include further age and stage appropriate guidance for teachers on how to address these and other related topics within the SPHE classroom. The Toolkit provides practical help designed to deepen teachers' understanding and skills so that they feel more confident in addressing important and sensitive topics.
In tandem with this work, preparation for the broader redeveloping and updating of the SPHE curriculum has begun. Updated curricula will be developed for Primary, Junior Cycle and Senior Cycle. It is expected that a revised Junior Cycle specification will be completed by the end of 2022, following a period of public consultation. Updated specifications for primary and senior cycle will follow immediately afterwards.
In redeveloping the SPHE curriculum, the NCCA will be making explicit the importance of fostering young people's self-awareness and self-esteem and building the foundational skills and dispositions needed for building caring and healthy relationships (including respectful communication, showing empathy, appreciating difference). The new specifications will also foster skills needed for dealing with challenging times. Consent education will be included within the learning outcomes for RSE, across all levels, based on the principle that consent is a core dimension of all healthy interpersonal relationships.
